The Gift
by hausofwhimsy
Summary: Neither Cave nor his assistant are sure of what to get each other for Christmas


Every Christmas that passed, Cave always made a point of buying something nice for Caroline. For reasons he couldn't ascertain (rather, reasons he wouldn't yet admit to himself), just fattening up her paycheck with a Christmas bonus didn't seem fitting; hell, the girl didn't even work at Aperture for the sake of the pay, but for the sake of science. Cave sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, wracking his brain for an idea.

_Wait a minute – one of those broads in Accounting could help me out! _He got up from his desk to pay the bean-counters a visit.

Meanwhile, Caroline was busying herself with getting her boss' coffee from the break room. She hummed softly, also engulfed with ideas about what to buy Cave. _What do you get someone who has everything? _She smiled, chucking at how poor of a gift-giver she had always been. Shrugging, she began to meander through the hallways that lead back to his office. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice.

"So, what do _you _like? Chocolate? Flowers? Diamond-encrusted watches? Gold-plated cigarette cases? Surely there's something that, ya know, sets you off when you open up the lid on Christmas Day." _That's Mr. Johnson. _Filled with curiosity, Caroline poked her head into the room, only to recoil back and press herself up against a wall that hid her from view. Mr. Johnson never left his office, not when she was out getting his coffee. More than that, Mr. Johnson never left to talk to the accountants; Mr. Johnson always made those kids come and speak to him in the privacy of his office…not to lean over the Assistant Accountant's desk, not to ask her what kinds of gifts she likes, not to ask-

"What lights your Christmas tree?"

Caroline dropped the coffee, clamping her hand over her mouth to stifle a cry as tears made her mascara run. She hurried off to the closest bathroom, diving into a stall and slamming the door closed before she sank down onto the floor to cry. Grounding the heels of her palms into her eyes, Caroline felt _dumb. _Dumb that she busted her ass every single day for a man who probably didn't even notice; dumb that she was upset (but she couldn't make the tears stop); dumb that she had these frivolous emotions for her boss; most importantly, dumb that some _sloppy accountant whore _could seduce a powerful and important man like Cave Johnson.

That was it! Maybe putting out was the key to finally nabbing her boss.

….._No._ Her logical, internal nag sternly said. She sighed. Becoming a sex-vixen to net anyone seemed an utterly foolish thought. Caroline loved Cave: he was the only man she had ever loved, and she would spend a billion years only being his secretary if it meant that one wonderful…glorious…outrageous night of passion meant being fired. Sighing, she grabbed some toilet paper to wipe away the ruined makeup on her face. She'd have to fix up another cup of coffee.

Cave was surprised when Caroline wasn't waiting for him with his steaming cup of coffee, but also relieved: having a moment to himself meant that she wouldn't wonder where he had gone off to, and allowed him the time to quickly scribble down some pointers the accounting girl had given him. Caroline entered the moment he finished, causing his nerves to get the better of him. He shoved the paper into a drawer. _She's the only person who has ever made me nervous…_

"Anything important?" Her voice was colored with laughter, obviously amused at his befuddlement. Cave shrugged and took the coffee from her, plopping down onto his couch. He figured he might as well take a direct route.

"Caroline, what sort of things do you like to get for Christmas?" She blinked, obviously caught off-guard by such a simple question.

"Well….wh-why do you ask, sir?" Why such a sudden change in tone? Was her voice shaking?

"Just an idea for a holiday-themed experiment: see what kinds of gifts people like the most." It hurt him to lie to Caroline, but he couldn't ruin the surprise.

"To be honest, sir," she spoke slowly, as if she were carefully choosing each word. "I think the best Christmas present, to me, would be for my loved ones to be happy." Cave was stunned.

"That's it? No diamonds or fur stoles?" She shook her head.

"Nope." She paused, blushing slightly. "Though….I think that spending time with the one you love is just as special. That would be my Christmas wish." Her voice was quiet and dreamy, almost as if she were talking more to herself than Cave. A moment passed before she came back from her thoughts. "Sorry your coffee took so long, Mr. Johnson. I'd better get back to those test results I was typing up!" She quickly rushed out the door, confusing the hell out of Cave. _She must be too nervous to think about her young boy when she's around her boss._ For some reason, that thought made Cave feel bitter…jealous, even. In that moment, he was determined to give Caroline a Christmas that would make her forget about any other man on the face of the planet!

God, she couldn't stop thinking about Cave ever since she had opened up to him about her Christmas wish. She wondered if he knew that she was talking about him.

_He must know; I'm so obvious about my feelings! _She bit her lip, desperately trying to focus on all of the typing she needed to finish before the day ended. It was going to be a long time before Christmas happened, but she just wanted it to be over.

The days did pass slowly for Caroline, always anxious about the oddly-long amounts of time Cave disappeared from his office, or how he was now coming in later and leaving earlier.

For Cave, however, the days zipped by too quickly (_note to self: find a way to invent something that will pause time) _as he struggled to put together a Christmas that would zing Caroline to the moon! She never asked him why he took so much time off or why he was so off-schedule the past few weeks, but that made things easier on him.

Finally, Christmas morning came. Every employee had the day off. Caroline never found herself able to sleep in very long on the weekends; in the middle of Michigan's cold winter, though, she was happy to turn off the alarm and curl deeper into the warmth of her comforter.

Until the phone rang.

"Hello?" She croaked groggily, frowning. Who in the hell was calling her at five in the morning on Christmas!  
>"Caroline, it's me. Are you busy? Of course you're not busy, it's five. Do you want to come over to my place?" Cave paused. "I mean, after you sleep in for a couple more hours?" Something about hearing her boss' voice woke her up.<p>

"Um…I can get ready and come over now, sir. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just take however long you need, and I'll be ready."

"Okay, sir."

The minutes that passed after the phone call were both fast and slow for Cave. He would be ashamed to admit that they were the most nerve-wracking ninety minutes of his life, but the only people who would know about this were him and his faithful secretary. Boy, had he been blessed with her! She was everything a secretary should be, and more…not like the rest of his freeloading employees. They did their jobs well (enough), and he got the fantastic scientific breakthroughs he wanted. But, none of them were Caroline. Hell, none of them could even come close to holding a candle to her!

The doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath, Cave smiled as he opened the door.

"Merry Christmas, Caroline." She smiled half-heartedly as she entered the house. She seemed surprised as to why he had no lights on, but she still opened her mouth to return the greeting.

"Merry Ch-" he cut her off with a hug, relishing the moment as she melted into him. "I…I don't understand," she whispered, and he could feel her hot breath on his neck as she spoke. He simply broke the hug and flicked several light switches on the wall. She gasped, eyes darting all around as Cave lead her into the living room. "Now, I _really _don't understand! What is going on?" Wwas normally a very empty and minimalistic room was now covered in a plethora of Christmas décor. Green and red tinsel hung all around the room, blending nicely with the mix of silver and gold ornaments weighing down the fir tree that sat in the corner. A fire crackled softly, the sound pleasantly harmonizing with the instrumental Christmas record Cave had playing. The coffee table happily displayed two plates with cinnamon rolls, flanked by steaming mugs of hot chocolate. "_What is going on?_" Caroline echoed, staring at her boss in utter confusion. He couldn't stifle a sigh, but quickly covered it up with a soft smile.

"Well, Caroline…whenever Christmas comes around, I really don't know what to do for you. You're really the backbone of Aperture, and just giving you a Christmas bonus doesn't seem like enough; you deserve something really special." He had turned away from her by this point, staring at the fire to ease some of the tension. "I tried asking around the facility, but a lot of those broads came up with some real materialistic answers, and I know you're not like that." Cave's voice went soft, gentle. There was a pregnant pause as he stared at the fire. The cold feeling of Caroline's hand entwining with his caused him to turn back to his assistant. Her eyes shone brightly, almost appearing glossy in the light of the fire.

"You mean you're not seeing the girl in accounting?" Cave was shocked.

"Of course not! What in the hell gave you….did you overhear us?" Now, it was Caroline's chance to turn away.

"I did, sir. I was bringing your coffee back when I heard you asking her – you asked her what lit her Christmas tree, and I thought that you were seeing her. That…that maybe you wanted to replace me." Her voice came out in a whisper, her eyes focused on her chipped nail polish. Cave grabbed her shoulders and whipped her around to face him, a stern look on his face.

"Caroline, if you ever even _think _that I would want to replace you with anyone else, I will fire you. You're the best damn employee I have! I couldn't ask for anyone better!"

"So, then…you did all this for me?" She looked around. "The tree, the lights, the fire, the tinsel, the –"

"Every last bit. You said the best Christmas present was seeing the one you care about happy and spending time with them. Well, I don't know who that lucky son-of-a-bitch is, but-"

Caroline put her hand over his mouth, quieting him.

"I was talking about you, sir." She blushed deeply, lowering her eyes as she slowly removed her hand – only to have Cave catch it in his own, pulling her close for a kiss. In that moment, both of them felt an overwhelming sense of completeness, like a weight had been lifted.

They both agreed that this was the best Christmas they could have ever asked for.


End file.
